A certain situation in my life (to be disclosed soon) has prompted me to think about various songs and my personal interpretations of them. It has also made me reflect on lyrics to songs in which I've never been able to pinpoint the meaning.

I figure there are others who ponder this shit from time to time.

Do any of you have any unique and/or original thoughts in terms of what any various song may mean? Want to share your interpretation? Let's hear it!

Do you have any of your own questions pertaining to what a song could mean? Some of the most deep-thinking, intelligent people I've ever encountered are posters on this board (that's the absolute truth). I am sure they will be willing to answer any questions you may have...

The lyrics weave a surreal tale in which a weary traveler checks into a luxury hotel. The hotel at first appears inviting and tempting but it turns out to be a nightmarish place where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." The song is an allegory about hedonism, self-destruction, and greed in the music industry of the late 1970s.[7] Don Henley called it "our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles"[8] and later reiterated: "It's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about."[9] In 2008, Don Felder described the origins of the lyrics:
“ Don Henley and Glenn wrote most of the words. All of us kind of drove into L.A. at night. Nobody was from California, and if you drive into L.A. at night... you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights, and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have, and so it was kind of about that... what we started writing the song about. Coming into L.A.... and from that 'Life in the Fast Lane' came out of it, and 'Wasted Time' and a bunch of other songs.[10] ”

The term "colitas" in the first stanza means "little tails" in Spanish; in Mexican slang it refers to buds of the cannabis plant.[11]

In a 2009 interview, Plain Dealer music critic John Soeder asked Don Henley this about the lyrics:
“ On "Hotel California," you sing: "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.'" I realize I'm probably not the first to bring this to your attention, but wine isn't a spirit. Wine is fermented; spirits are distilled. Do you regret that lyric? ”

Henley responded:
“ Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.[12] ”

According to Glenn Frey's liner notes for The Very Best Of, the use of the word "steely" in the lyric (referring to knives) was a playful nod to band Steely Dan, who had included the lyric "Turn up the Eagles, the neighbors are listening" in their song "Everything You Did".[13]
Conjectures

The metaphorical character of the story related in the lyrics has inspired a number of conjectural interpretations by listeners. In the 1980s some Christian evangelists alleged that "Hotel California" referred to a San Francisco hotel that was purchased by Anton LaVey and converted into a Church of Satan.[14][15] Other rumors suggested that the Hotel California was the Camarillo State Mental Hospital.[16]

A certain situation in my life (to be disclosed soon) has prompted me to think about various songs and my personal interpretations of them. It has also made me reflect on lyrics to songs in which I've never been able to pinpoint the meaning.

I figure there are others who ponder this shit from time to time.

Do any of you have any unique and/or original thoughts in terms of what any various song may mean? Want to share your interpretation? Let's hear it!

Do you have any of your own questions pertaining to what a song could mean? Some of the most deep-thinking, intelligent people I've ever encountered are posters on this board (that's the absolute truth). I am sure they will be willing to answer any questions you may have...

His woman...she came home from the store, man. They needed some hamburger buns, so she went and picked some up. Then she got back. And their pet anaconda didn't want none of them hamburgers, so it was a good time. Easy.

This is probably my favorite song of all time (along with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division). I used to tell my ex-girlfriend that the song summed up how I felt about her, with hopes that she wouldn't catch on to the heroin references. When I listened to it, I basically just replaced the heroin references with something that was more relevant to me personally (like her at the time). Beautiful lyrics though, IMO.

"I Got You" by Stone Temple Pilots

I got you
But it's the craving for the good life
That sees me through troubled times
When the mind begins to wander to the spoon

And I got you
'Cause you're there to bend and nurture me through these
Troubled times
'Cause the fix begins to twist my troubled mind

And I got you to paint the sorrow on my day
And I got you to paint the roses on my grave
And I got you

I got you
But it's the feeling that I get when you're away
Twist my mind,
'Cause I'm all alone and cold, I feel like dyin'
And I got you to fill the craving that I get inside my mind
When you're there to fill the space I have inside, I feel like crying

And I got you to paint the sorrow on my day
And I got you to paint the roses on my grave
And I got you

All the slippin' that I slap me
I got you, I got you
All the slippin' that I slap me

* Man, those were some dark times when I was with her. Glad that it didn't work out. Much happier now.

“ On "Hotel California," you sing: "So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.'" I realize I'm probably not the first to bring this to your attention, but wine isn't a spirit. Wine is fermented; spirits are distilled. Do you regret that lyric? ”

Henley responded:
“ Thanks for the tutorial and, no, you're not the first to bring this to my attention—and you're not the first to completely misinterpret the lyric and miss the metaphor. Believe me, I've consumed enough alcoholic beverages in my time to know how they are made and what the proper nomenclature is. But that line in the song has little or nothing to do with alcoholic beverages. It's a sociopolitical statement. My only regret would be having to explain it in detail to you, which would defeat the purpose of using literary devices in songwriting and lower the discussion to some silly and irrelevant argument about chemical processes.[12] ”

[16]

I wish he'd have answered fully but it's just not his way. he is always about leaving the interpretation up to the listener....but boy he smacked a bitch here!

I have heard the meaning of the "spirit" lyric twisted into being a reference to the Holy Spirit and the first church of satan starting in 1969. so the Holy Spirit hasn't been there since 1969. I've never given that an ounce of credibility. just stupid.

I believe the spirit he is referring to is the spirit of freedom and the days of worry free living. the kind of hippie-esque notion of a world where it's everybody loving one another and we're all happy. he's saying those days are over.
same sentiment displayed in The End Of The Innocence.
just my opinion.